Mid‑Columbia Housing Authority outlines voucher support, pipeline and community‑land‑trust option for Goldendale

Karen Long, executive director of the Mid‑Columbia Housing Authority and Columbia Basin Housing Corporation, presented the agency’s programs and development pipeline to the Bouldin City Council and invited local officials to request assistance for new projects.

“We provide around $750,000 every month directly to private landlords in the community. We have about 900 households. Here in Goldendale we serve about 110 households,” Long said, summarizing the agency’s rental‑assistance footprint. She described three main program areas: rental assistance (the federal Housing Choice Voucher program), self‑sufficiency and casework, and development and preservation of affordable housing units.

Long said the authority owns 24 properties across five counties (about 135 units total) and currently has seven units in Goldendale. She described six projects in the pipeline, including an assisted‑living facility in White Salmon, a 130‑unit Parkview Village in Hood River and a 76‑unit Chenowith development in The Dalles, and said the agency is pursuing acquisition‑rehab and preservation work.

Long also outlined the agency’s homeownership offerings, including first‑time buyer education, limited down‑payment assistance, foreclosure counseling and a community land‑trust model in which a nonprofit retains land ownership and a buyer purchases the home to keep costs lower and preserve long‑term affordability. “We’re always looking for our next development project,” she said, and invited council members to contact her and the authority’s local representative about opportunities.

Council members pressed for clarification about who the programs reach and whether intermediate‑income households who do not qualify for traditional rental assistance have options. A councilor noted a local gap of households who earn too much to qualify for rental assistance but still struggle with rising costs; Long said homeownership programs and the community land‑trust can help that group by lowering upfront costs and stabilizing housing payments.

Councilors and staff discussed next steps: several members suggested forming a short, non‑permanent committee to explore available land, coordinate with the housing authority and pursue applications or partnership conversations. The council asked staff to follow up with Mid‑Columbia and local representatives to determine interest and technical next steps.

The presentation ended with a commitment by Long to provide additional details on project timing and to continue outreach to Goldendale officials and residents.

The council did not take a vote on a project during the meeting; members agreed to pursue follow‑up conversations with Mid‑Columbia Housing Authority and to consider a committee or study session to examine local land and development options.